how to eat crab

I'd read about Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant in Davao City where the crab was supposedly Da Bomb. While walking around the neighborhood near our hotel, we saw it and decided to have lunch there.

Artsy soy sauce container.

The dining area was well-designed with really cool furniture and decor, and the wait staff was helpful and friendly-- too friendly, in fact. They played the music too loud and gossiped loudly with one another. I couldn't help myself and had to ask them to shut up. But otherwise, the service was attentive and generally OK.

(Hmm... come to think of it, this happened at Bagobo House Hotel, too. The hotel staff-- front desk, waiters, cooks, housekeeping and security guard-- had a habit of hanging around in the lobby, gabbing away and reading the newspaper even before the guests could get their hands on it.)

So anyhoo, we ordered the crab. Just one. For me.

You lookin' at me?

It usually takes me 90 minutes to two hours to eat a crab. This one had a very thin shell. I didn't even get to use the nutcracker and pick that were provided. I used tooth and nail only-- Rawr!

The crab waves the white flag.

Is there a contest for crab-eating wherein the objective is to pick it clean? I tell ya, I would probably win, or at least be a finalist.

The crab was not really Da Bomb. More like just a sparkler. Just so-so, like the other dishes that we ordered.

Cha nuong. Ground pork barbeque with lettuce, basil and rice paper.

Goi cuon. Fresh spring roll with shrimp and pork.

Traditional Vietnamese coffee.

Coffee jelly with vanilla ice cream.

The pork rolls tasted like longganisa. I've had better spring rolls at Pho Hoa, a fast-food joint in Manila. The coffee was very strong. The coffee jelly was ugly-- well, look at it! Everything was fairly edible, but not worth the relatively high prices. I noticed that the clientele was mostly businessmen or ladies who lunch. I guess that's because of the ambience, but they really have to work on the presentation and taste of the food.

Hanoi shares its space with a Japanese restaurant. We couldn't leave without taking a picture of the ginormous tuna which was waiting to be carved up for sashimi.

Bigger than a small child, no kidding.